Latch assembly for refrigerator doors



Oct. 4, 1932. lA. N. HoRNUNG LATCH ASSEMBLY FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS Filed Oct. 9, 1929 Patented Oct. 4, 19.32 I

' UNITED STAT-Es ANTON N. HOBNUNG, OF LOS ANGELES', CALIFORNIA LATCH ASSEMBLY FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS Application led October 9, 1929. Serial No. 398,399.

This invention comprises an assembly applicable to refrigerator door latches of the character set forth in Letters-Patent No. 1,534,216 granted 4to me April121, 1925. v

B' An object of this -invention is to provide means whereby a latch'of the character set forth in said patent-cani be delivered to the mechanic in fewer vp"art-s and can be applied to refrigerators and to refrigerator rooms,

l10 cabinets and compartments with greater ease than with the device set forth 1n my said patent.

In the patented latch I provided a rock shaft with two bell-crank handles in angu- 1li lar relation and spread apart von opposite sides of the doort'o which the shaft was journalled by plates on opposite faces of the door, and in this invention the shaft and bell cranks are employed in much the same way 20 as in the patent; therefore detail illustration of the parts on the inner face of the refrigerator door is not deemed necessary in the present application.

Another object of this invention is to make 25 provision for adjusting the latch movement so as to avoid unnecessary lost motion.

Another object is to provide a construction and arran ement whereby the latch may be exactly adjusted to the strike and keeper.

Another object is to properly house the latch bolt and its operating adjun'cts.

An advantage gained is time and labor saving in making an installation of the latch and its adjuncts.

A feature of the invention is construction whereby the latch bolt and the spring for shooting it into and holding it in position while passing the strike and keeper, and when coming to rest in latchingV position may be accurately adjusted, and whereby the operation will invariably be smooth and without jar or rattling. v

A feature of the invention 'is that I provide in combination with a floating bolt that is held by a spring toward latching position, a bolt retracting rod slidable relatlve to the floating bolt and connected to an operating handle and having a head to retract the fioating bolt directly and practically without lost 5 motion.

embody departing from the spirit thereof.

The invention includes the combination and parts thereof herein set forth, andI may the'same in various forms without An object is to make provision whereby, although the latch is normally thrown into latching position by yielding means, the attendant may, by li ing up on the latch handle, force the latch into latched position.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined:v detailed description and the appended claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention.

Figure 1 is a fragmentar7 view from above showing the assem l part y in. longitudinal mid-section installed7 on the door of a refrigerator, fragments of which, with some of the latch adjuncts in place are shown; the door being shown closed.

Fig. 2 1s a perspective view of the latch bolt and its operatlng connection and s ring as they appear when removed from the ous 1n ig. 3 is a fragmental elevation with parts' in section online m3, Fig. 1.

' Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line m4, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the housing de tached. v

Fig. 6 is a rear end view of the housing'detached.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the assembly in place on a refrigerator door closing ast a strlke and keeper on the jamb of a re rigerator fragmentally Shown.

The housing comprises a shell 1 having an open back, and a panel 2 detachably fixed to the shell and closin the back to form a way 3 open forwardly and rearwardl as at 4 and 5 to accommodate a latch 6 slida le in the way, f

a latch advancing spring 7 and a latch retracting connection 8.

The shell comprises a face wall 9 that connects two side walls 10 which extend forwardly of the face wall 9 and which are provided with bearing extensions 11 that carry a roller composed of a roller axle 12, riveted in said bearing extensions, and a roller sleeve 13 journalled on the axle.

The base of the shell is provided with side anges -14 having countersunk screw holes 15 through which anchor screws 16 are inserted to screw into the door 17 of the refrigerator to which the latch is thus xed.

The face of the shell walls 10 are grooved as at 18 to form a seat for the panel 2 which is held in place by means of one or more panel retaining screws 19 screwed into threaded socketsV 2O in the bottoms of the side walls which are thickened by outside enlargements or bosses 21 to accommodate the panel screws 16.

The periphery of the roller 13 is in front of and flush with the inside of the face wall 9 to anti-frictionally support the protruding portion of the latch 6 when the roller 22 of the latch strikes the strike, keeper or catch 23 that is fixed to the door jamb 24.

The latch comprises two runners formed of side bars 25 spaced apart by two cross bars 26 and 27, the rearward one of which has a way 28 through which extends the connecting rod 8 that is threaded at its forward end to screw into a retainer comprising a push nut 29, in front of which I have shown a draw nut 30, both of which nuts are non-rotatable within the space 31 formed between the side bars and cross bars.l

The rear terminal of the rod that forms the connection 8 is formed with an eye 32 for a hinge pin 33 which hinges the connection to the latch retracting forks 34 of the latch handle 35 which is ournalled by the shaft 36 in the escutcheon plates 37.

The notch 5 is wide enough to allow the eye 32 to pass therethrough and a washer 38 that will not pass the eye or pass iatwise through the notch, is slipped on to the connecting rod before it is inserted into the bolt and when the rod has been inserted through the rear cross-bar 26 and screwed into the nuts, the workman may insert the latch 6 through the front end of the housing, and the eye 32 through the notch, compressing the sprin against the washers 38 held by the notched rear wall of the housing, and the hinge pin 33 is then inserted and the latch is ready for installation in the door in an obvious manner.

As the door closes, the roller running over the keeper is forcedback and may compress the spring without thrusting the handle, because the latch is slidable at first independently of the connecting rod, and when the roller has passed the keeper the stop bar 26 comes snug against the rearl face of the draw nut 29; thus the spring holds the parts in the position shown in Fig. 3 until it is desired to unlatch the door; then the attendant may depress the handle, thus at once retracting the latch without lost motion.

By properly locating the nut 29, the latching roller 22 can be accurately adjusted relative to the strike 23 so that when the parts are at rest 'as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, the

axis of the pin 39 will have passed beyond a line indicated at a--a extending from the catch lip 41 at right angles to the latch body so that compression of the resilient ackin 42 is maintained by the latch, and tllie latc cannot be retracted except by pressure along its length.

By this arrangement the adjustment can be so exact that a very slight retraction of the latch allows the roller to be rolled back by the catch.

Incase from any cause the latch should work hard and not fully seat in the keeper, the handle may be lifted thus causing the push nut to force the latch roller forward.

The fork 34, and handle, 35, are arranged relative to the shaft 36, and the connection 8, when the spring is in lace as indicated in Fig. 3, so that the han le 35, will overhang the gin 33, and a downward movement of the han le 35 will cause the draw nut 30 to retract the roller 22; so that the upward pressure of the handle 35 will cause the push nut 29 to shove the aboutment 26 and the latch forward, thus to force the roller into the latching position shown in Fig. 1.

I clalmz- 1. In a latch, a housing having a latchway open forwardly and rearwardly and having side walls spaced apart and provided in their faces with panel seats and threaded sockets for panel securing screws provided with bearing extensions having holes for anchor screws; a latch arranged with its body slidable in the latchway and its latching end extended forwardly beyond the housin a spring in the housing to yieldingly hol the latching end of the latch fully extended; latch retracting means connected to the latch and extending through the rearward opening; a roller` mounted in the bearings and extending peripherally into the slide way to form an antifriction support for the latching end of the latch; a panel in the panel seatsV and screws in the sockets to hold the panels in the panel seats.

2. The combination of a channel latch housing adapted to be fixed to a door and having a slideway open at one end and having an abutment connecting the side walls and extending across the slideway at the other end; of a latch member comprising two runners spaced apart and an abutment connecting the runners between their ends and providing therewith two nut seats; nuts nonrotatable in said seats; a rod slidable through the housing abutment, screwed through one of said nuts, extended through the latch abutment and screwed throu h the other nut; and a spring between the rst nut and the housing abutment.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 19th day of September, 1929.

ANTON N. HORNUNG. 

